Submitted by:
Jordan Johnstone, OMS II – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Kali Chiriboga, OMS II – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Matthew LaPlante, OMS II – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Gabrielle Chang, OMS I – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Whitley Nelson, OMS I – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Andrew Cox, OMS I – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
Steven Gay, OMS I – Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest

I disagree with this resolution because it inherently supports the idea that two tests are necessary going forward, despite the Match merger. Having two tests puts significant financial and academic burdens on DO students which simply do not exist for our MD counterparts. Though AMA recently declared COMLEX and USMLE equivalent, it is unrealistic to expect program directors to change decades-long and scientifically documented discrimination against COMLEX scores within the next few years. Every year where this discrimination exists is another class-year of DO students who face unfair burdens. This is why there should be one test for all medical students with an osteopathic supplement for DO programs. Increasing education about COMLEX equivalency will not remove the extra burdens of taking two tests (done as a safety measure against bias), nor decrease the anti-COMLEX bias instantly. We need to focus on making one centralized testing system.

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